Government coalition partner, the Jumhooree Party (JP), must not have 'one foot in' and has to decide on whether or not to support the coalition, north-Galolhu MP Eva Abdulla has said.

MP Eva, aligned with the coalition’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), told RaajjeTV on Wednesday night that the JP should not be working with parties outside the coalition.

Eva said that JP working with the ‘Progressive Coalition’, name of the union between the former ruling party and a newly established opposition party, compromises the party's position in the coalition.

JP leader Qasim Ibrahim’s comments, with the parliamentary elections scheduled for early April, will likely confuse the party’s members as to which candidate they need to support, MP Eva said.

Eva said that with JP’s position being fluid, it is now clear that electing MDP’s candidates to parliament is the surest means to ensure that the government’s pledges are kept.

It was this sentiment that caused a rift between MDP and JP, with Qasim expressing dismay over MDP contesting for all but one of 87 seats in the upcoming People’s Majlis election.

JP also claims that MDP had violated an agreement between members of the coalition dividing seats among them as such: 40 percent for MDP, 25 percent for JP, 30 for Maumoon Reform Movement, and 15 for the Adhaalath Party.

However, MDP denies that such an agreement exists and after members of other parties in the coalition began referring to said agreement, they conceded that it was proposed and signed by MDP, but ‘not by all parties, and is unenforceable’.

At a rally this week, MDP leader Mohamed Nasheed defended his party’s position by saying that dividing constituencies among parties in the coalition could have infringed on the rights of constituents.

Qasim has accused MDP of casting JP ‘aside’ and has expressed his willingness to work with parties outside the coalition, in the upcoming election.

JP is fielding candidates for over 30 constituencies and in February, a JP aligned parliamentarian submitted a bill to bar former presidents from the election, which has been interpreted by the MDP as a direct attempt to hinder party leader Nasheed’s bid for the central-Mahchangoalhi seat.